Category: Advertising

Business is all about taking risks. For me, I am taking a huge risk in launching a new brand, within an industry that I have never worked in before. Granted, they say that the average person has 3 different careers in their lifetime. I just thought that when we adopted the kids and I had decided to semi-retire, being a father was my third career.

Now that the foundation of our new brand, Simply Ardynn, has been laid, it is time to start actively promoting the magazine, cookbooks, streaming video service and online store. My initial thought, was to use traditional food and cooking images and our tagline. But no matter how beautiful or tantalizing the images were, there isn’t really anything setting them apart from the million other food brands out there.

A few days ago, I was combing through our extensive database of images that we have purchased or taken over the years and I came across some very tasteful black and white nudes. It got me to thinking about the very first ad I ever created for the Ardynn Media Group. It was an image of a nude male that had our logo as a tattoo on his butt cheek for use during our promo at Gay Pride almost a decade ago.

So, I started playing around with cupcakes and nudes. Not taking it too serious, mainly thinking about using them on social media for their shock value. Why not have a cupcake of a boy showcase an actual cupcake. I posted 3 different images with funny tag lines about recipes from Simply Ardynn and to my surprise they have received overwhelming likes and even garnered me new followers.

Now that I have a had a few days to ponder things and consider the possible ramifications, I have decided that going with shock value is the way for us to formally launch our new brand. Why not get people talking about the ads from Ardynn Media Group for their new food and lifestyle magazine that has nude people showcasing delicious foods.

Over the next week or so we will come up with a total of 10 ads that have shock value and start dispersing them online via social media channels, ad buys and maybe even traditionally printed ads in magazines.

Gone are the days where professionals, and brands alike, segment their marketing efforts due to the fear of missing out on message delivery. The use of social media and other online mediums has become common place. Yet most still have issues in creating a balanced campaign that uses the individual strengths of an outlet.

While a brand or marketing team may have designed a quality, targeted ad message, most fail to adapt and change the ad to meet the specific user needs of a particular social media outlet.

Twitter is meant to engage and hold a conversation, while Facebook is ideal for delivering detailed content messages. LinkedIn is more ideal for making those professional introductions for a brand that will lead to word of mouth referral business and investor growth opportunities. Instagram is perfect long term strategies and building brand strength around core messages and beliefs.

The list goes on and on, but these are just a part of a professional’s or brands’ marketing components. For example, during a trade show or live conference, think about having an iPad that is being mirrored (via an Apple TV) to a large screen at the booth. And as you interact with your audience, ask them to relay their thoughts or reviews of your brand or product via Twitter, then and there. Tell them that by doing so, they are not only engaging their followers, but because they are mentioning you, they are able to capitalize on your brands following and potentially grow their own. Its a simple way of holding a potential clients attention, while getting them to actually think about your brand or product and not just listening to a sales pitch in order to get a give away or contest entry.

Over the past few years I have seen little that was truly new and exciting when it came to the real estate industry. Yes, there has been continued growth within the industry, but the over-all economy has done well. Sooooo…. What’s the big deal? Now I will admit that, I myself have been headline and summary skimming the past few months because we have been prepping for the relaunch.

Last week, I was going through my daily batch of emails and came across a product announcement from REAL Trends. Now, I don’t know if this caught my attention because I am starting to scrutinize the competition or because REAL Trends hasn’t announced a new product line in a while (they have long been an industry metrics leader and Top Broker concultancy.). What ever the case, I was drawn to the email like a moth to a flame.

Once read, I immediately set a time for Travis Saxton (a long time industry friend) and I to speak and catchup. Today’s call was enlightening and exciting at the same time. We spoke at length about their new Predictive and Targeted Marketing Platform. Besides being a great online ad solution for hyper-targeting real estate interested buyers/sellers, it gives REAL Trends a product that isn’t just for top brokers, but the average real estate agent as well.

“Our new predictive marketing solution (free to our clients) allows us the ability to hone in and target potential real estate consumers in your market. With an abundance of data at our fingertips, we can pinpoint home searchers who have shown interest via real estate sites. We’re also able to hone in on those who’ve recently downloaded and/or used real estate apps. From a geo-location/targeting standpoint, we can drop a pin anywhere in the world and have ads served up to those who meet our filters or radius. It’s precision at its best.

Think of it as reverse marketing. We usally think of delivering online advertising by choosing the medium or delivery mechanism (ad network, websites, etc.) Then, you are lucky if you can filter further based on area or zip code. The problem with this is that you are constrained to one medium. This is where our predictive marketing differs. We first identify the consumer or recruit you want, then work backward to deliver tailored messaging to the right person at the right time. It even works for recruiting. Now, targeting real estate professionals in your market has never been easier.

We are using this technology to promote hyper local campaigns from golf courses communities and lake communities, to name a few. We can take it down to the individual listing level if you are trying to target a specific profile for your luxury listing. ” says Travis Saxton, V.P. Of Technology, REAL Trends

Contact them today at tech@realtrends.com to get started or to learn more. Let them know that Michale Harris-Arzon of Ardynn Media Group sent you.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or newbie real estate agent, Having the ability to truly hyper-target your online ad efforts beyond the scope of Facebook Ads or Google Ads even, then I suggest you at least request a demo.